1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to keyboards and more particularly to a keyboard having selectable letter formats for minimizing operator fatigue and increasing speed. The invention also relates to a process for arriving at an optimum keyboard letter format for any given language.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The present-day typewriter has evolved from the nineteenth century into instruments which can be operated manually or electrically, as well as becoming part of the modern computer terminal in the form of a keyboard. With the computer keyboards, information which is entered may be printed at once or at a later time. Operating any one of these instruments today with the standard QWERTY format for the characters on the keyboard, however, disregards the natural use of the operator's hands, particularly the left hand. Thus, only the trained professional typist, having become used to the conforming demands of the QWERTY format, can use any of these instruments with proficiency.
So it is that modern users of the QWERTY format are, for the most part, of two distinct classes. The professional typists, who may never purchase a keyboard instrument but can earn their living operating one, are the only ones recognized by most manufacturers who persist in providing only the QWERTY format. Entrepreneurs and others, who buy such instruments later in life and haven't enough time to learn the touch-type demands of QWERTY and who must "peck and hunt" at the keyboard, are generally unrecognized by those who manufacture it.
The need for a mass-produced keyboard instrument having formats other than QWERTY has been reflected, for example, in recent articles discussing the DVORAK simplified keyboard ("DSK") as one alternative. The DSK format is, however, directed only to the English language. As the world-wide sales of keyboard instruments with the QWERTY format continues, it is imperative that easier formats be made available for users in non-English speaking countries.